Colin Palmer has been appointed to lead the development of offshore renewable energy and aquaculture for the public body that manages the leasing of Scotland’s seabed.
As head of marine for Crown Estate Scotland, Palmer’s remit will also include carbon capture & storage and cables & pipelines.
Palmer, who is currently delivery director with Kite Power Systems (KPS), said: “Scotland’s seas are hugely important to our economy and our environment so joining the organisation that manages seabed leasing, and a team that has real depth and breadth of expertise, is an incredibly exciting prospect.”
Expansion ahead
Crown Estate Scotland manages virtually all of Scotland's seabed out to 12 nautical miles – covering shellfish growing and fish farms, and cables & pipelines for telecommunications and oil & gas – as well as the rights to renewable energy and gas storage out to 200 nautical miles.
The Crown Estate Scotland team are currently developing a new leasing round for offshore wind to allow more projects to be built late 2020s onwards. They also manage around 750 finfish farm leases and a programme of R&D to improve sustainability in aquaculture.
Palmer joined KPS as delivery director in 2017, focusing on the delivery of an innovative new airborne renewable energy technology that generates electricity from kite systems at high altitude.
He has previously undertaken multiple roles in onshore wind farm development for Airtricity; project-managed the Beatrice offshore wind farm up until consent in 2014; and worked as asset Manager for SSE on the Forewind consortium’s Dogger Bank offshore wind developments off the Yorkshire coast.
Additionally, he was a board director on SSE’s joint venture with Aquamarine on the Brough Head wave energy development.
